March 1, 2024:
With this being the first day of meteorological spring, it really hits home that 2024 was a different kind of winter. The Pacific Ocean El Niño has made this winter very easy on our fleet of stored boats. Covers are in good shape and there is no snow or ice in the lot. On a warm day, take some time to come visit the facility and crawl up on your boat and make that spring list we all seem to have with our boats. Launching boats in April certainly looks to be possible this year. Please be safe on ladders in the boat yard. No wooden ladders of any kind. Always tie your ladder top and bottom.
Get a head start on spring launch by having all of your service, launch, and yearly slip lease forms filled out and ready to go. These forms will be mailed out in the April 1st mailing and available on our website. We can typically launch a vessel within a day or two of request, or even the same day in many cases. That said, if your vessel requires extensive commissioning, assembly or rigging-please reach out to the service staff to make those arrangements early, as the list grows longer every day.
Megan has been reaching out for dock deposits which were due in January; we have now made all slips without deposits paid available on a first come basis. Payment for dockage in full is due April 1. The Ship’s Store and service building office is open Monday through Friday 8:00-4:30. The service office is also open Saturday until noon. Expanded hours begin after Easter. Please note there are a few slips available at Knife River Marina, give them a call if you would like to inquire about a slip ‘up North’ 218-834-6076.
Due to the increased cost of credit card processing, we will start charging a 3% credit card use fee beginning this month. To avoid this fee, you can pay online via debit card, ACH, or in person with debit card, check, or cash. To pay online when you receive your email statement, click the link and enter your password– your password is your billing zip code. If you have any questions please give us a call and we are more than happy to help.
The Barker’s and Knife River crew were happy to see many familiar faces at the boat shows this winter. It’s always nice to touch base with our clients during the winter months, the boat shows are a breath of fresh air and get everyone excited for the summer soon to come. We had a lot of interest in our AquaTraction decking and we see that becoming more popular each year. It’s an easy and attractive upgrade for your boat– give us a call and we can set you up with a quote!
Brokerage remains strong, especially with the weather already giving the feeling of spring. Now is a great time to list your boat as many buyers want to have a vessel lined up for the coming summer season. Contact John our broker if you have boat on the mind in any way.
Sincerely,
Eric Thomas & All the Crew at Barker’s